Kenya receives first batch of travellers from China in 3 years

Travellers disembarking the China Southern flight which touched down at JKIA on Saturday, February 11, 2023. [Standard]

Kenya's efforts to attract tourists from China received a major boost after the Asian giant's largest airline arrived in the country with the first batch of group travellers from China.

The China Southern Airlines flight from Guangzhou touched down at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Saturday morning with 205 travellers, 40 of whom were on group travel.

This marked the first time the airline was landing in Kenya with a group of travellers since a ban on group tours was imposed by the Chinese government during the onset of Covid-19 in 2020.

Tourism Principal Secretary John Ololtuaa, while welcoming the visitors, said the resumption of group travel from china was a key milestone for Kenya's tourism.

"Today is exciting for us because it means we are now resuming full connectivity with one of our growing source markets for international tourist arrivals," he said.

The Chinese airline had initially resumed flying into Kenya on January 9, 2023.

China lifted its travel restrictions last month with the government announcing it would pilot outbound group tours in 20 countries globally starting February 6.

Kenya was among the only three African countries picked alongside Egypt and South Africa for the project.

China is currently Kenya's sixth biggest tourism source market internationally and the second biggest source market in Asia. It contributes around 5.5 per cent of total international tourist arrivals to Kenya thereby signifying its immense potential for growth.

Kenya's efforts to attract tourists from China received a major boost after the Asian giant's largest airline arrived in the country with the first batch of group travellers from China.

The China Southern Airlines flight from Guangzhou touched down at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Saturday morning with 205 travellers, 40 of whom were on group travel.

This marked the first time the airline was landing in Kenya with a group of travellers since a ban on group tours was imposed by the Chinese government during the onset of Covid-19 in 2020.

Tourism Principal Secretary John Ololtuaa, while welcoming the visitors, said the resumption of group travel from china was a key milestone for Kenya's tourism.

"Today is exciting for us because it means we are now resuming full connectivity with one of our growing source markets for international tourist arrivals," he said.

The Chinese airline had initially resumed flying into Kenya on January 9, 2023.

China lifted its travel restrictions last month with the government announcing it would pilot outbound group tours in 20 countries globally starting February 6.

Kenya was among the only three African countries picked alongside Egypt and South Africa for the project.

China is currently Kenya's sixth biggest tourism source market internationally and the second biggest source market in Asia. It contributes around 5.5 per cent of total international tourist arrivals to Kenya thereby signifying its immense potential for growth.